Being that we’re all educators, we gathered several Lewis & Clark/Sacagawea books for Ryan to read. I also got on the National Park Service website & printed a bunch of stuff. We stopped at several places through the gorge that were significant in their expedition.We made it to Port Townsend quite late that second night. Our condo was in an area called Kala Point, and was absolutely beautiful!
Saturday, June 2 - Went to the Port Townsend farmer’s market, and then an art walk in a nearby town, Quilcene. It was fun to explore both of those great towns.Sunday, June 3 - Went to the Port Townsend ward, and then walked around Port Townsend, exploring a little bit more. We went to Fort Worden and went to a couple of the museums and explored a little bit there.
Monday, June 4 – Took the ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle, first stopping for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, Ivar’s. We had a great time at the Pike’s Place Market, the Pacific Science Center, and the Space Needle. Ryan had a loose tooth, and thought it would be cool to pull it on top of the Space Needle. He worked and worked on it, but didn’t pull it.
Tuesday, June 5 – Took the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Again, Ryan thought it would be cool to lose his tooth either in Canada or on the ferry to Canada. Didn’t happen. On our bus ride to Butchart Gardens, we were the only passengers! Our driver was a fun guy to talk to. As soon as we said we were from Utah, he said he knew about the Mormons. He started asking us all kinds of questions about our beliefs, and just clarified several things he had heard. It was fun talking with him. We didn’t have any Books of Mormon with us, but asked if we could send him one when we got home. We did. We had a great time at the Butchart Gardens. They are absolutely beautiful! What a stunning transformation from an old cement plant to what it is now! 
Back in the harbor area, we walked through the famous Empress Hotel, and then walked a few blocks for dinner at a restaurant called Earl’s, which was recommended by our bus driver.
Wednesday, June 6 – Spent more time at Fort Worden. Hiked to some of the old bunkers and explored those.
We spent the afternoon and evening with Dad’s cousin, Mimi McCooey, in Sequim. She took us to dinner at the Three Crabs restaurant right on the Dungeness Spit.Thursday, June 7 – We had fun in Sequim with Mimi. We visited a couple of different lavender farms, and enjoyed buying all kinds of things made with lavender – including honey! She also took us to a fun place called Railroad Bridge Park, and we did a long walk on a trail there. We also visited an Audobon Center there, and enjoyed learning about the local birds and wildlife.
Friday, June 8 – Left Port Townsend, and stopped for breakfast in Sequim with Mimi. Then we drove north-west to Neah Bay and the Cape Flattery trailhead. Cape Flattery is the north-western most point of the continental U.S. It is only about a mile hike, but it is so muddy that most of the hike is on wooden planks. It is also pretty much straight down getting to the point, and then straight up coming back.Ryan was still working on his loose tooth, and decided that the northwestern-most point of the continental U.S. would be a very cool place to lose it. Having already missed the Space Needle and Canada opportunities, he was not going to let this one slip by! He worked on that tooth the entire time! Papa even helped a little bit! Sure enough, he pulled it! He proudly told (and showed!) everyone on the trail back that he had pulled his tooth. It was hilarious!
We finished driving down the Washington Coast, stopping at various points to hike down to see some of the sea stacks. They are so cool!
Drove to Astoria, Oregon, where we spent the night.Saturday, June 9 – Left Astoria, and went to a couple more Lewis & Clark sites – Cape Disappointment and Fort Clatsop.
We stopped in Tillamook to visit the cheese factory. Ryan thought it was really funny that he could say "cheese" for a picture in front of the cheese.
We met my friend, Mark, and his daughter, Kaitlyn, in Tillamook. Ryan and I rode the rest of the way down the coast with them. We stopped in Lincoln City for dinner at Kyllo’s, and then drove the rest of the way to Corvallis to spend the night. (That is also where Mark and Kaitlyn live.) My cousin Stephen and his wife Susan also live in Corvallis. We talked with them for a while.
Sunday, June 10 – We drove home from Corvallis, getting home pretty late that night.
Yes, for those of you that tease me about this, I took my laptop on my vacation. But I was teaching a class that started on June 1! I tried to get a wireless signal in the condo and in the clubhouse, but it didn't work. I couldn't ever find the network that they said was available, so I spent some time almost every day in the parking lot of a coffee shop with free wifi down the hill from the condo.
Ryan started baseball the week we got home. He's now at "coach pitch" level instead of tee-ball. They still only let them run 2 bases at a time, though. He had a couple of hits that were easily home runs, but they stopped him at second base. He is a great little batter! I love this picture - he is getting ready to jump and slide home!
Sunday, June 10 – We drove home from Corvallis, getting home pretty late that night.
Yes, for those of you that tease me about this, I took my laptop on my vacation. But I was teaching a class that started on June 1! I tried to get a wireless signal in the condo and in the clubhouse, but it didn't work. I couldn't ever find the network that they said was available, so I spent some time almost every day in the parking lot of a coffee shop with free wifi down the hill from the condo.
Ryan started baseball the week we got home. He's now at "coach pitch" level instead of tee-ball. They still only let them run 2 bases at a time, though. He had a couple of hits that were easily home runs, but they stopped him at second base. He is a great little batter! I love this picture - he is getting ready to jump and slide home!
Monday, June 25, was scout day camp at Tracy Wigwam. Nicole and I took our 5 boys together in my car. One of my boys is autistic and is deathly afraid of bugs. Any bug. Day camp was outside. In the woods. Lots of bugs. About 10 minutes into the day, Nicole and I decided that she would be in charge of the 3 Bears (ha - that's funny) and my other Wolf, and I would be Alex's "buddy" for the day. I consider myself to be a pretty patient person. But he wore me out. He clung to me the entire day. I literally had to pull him along with me everywhere we went. During most of the activities, he was practically on my lap instead of paying attention. I'd have to tell each new leader of each new activity just to go on without us - either physically or verbally. It was not a fun day for him, which is too bad. It was a CSI theme (Cub Scout Investigators), and was really a lot of fun for the other boys and Nicole. It was really sad to see that such a fun experience for the other boys was so traumatic for him.
Dad was in Chicago the last week of June for a convention, and Mom was diagnosed with pneumonia! (Now, before you accuse me of giving it to her, I had it 3 months ago! Weird.) Ryan and I checked in on her several times a day while Dad was gone.Our house looked so cute with all of the wildflowers in bloom. One of Ryan's daily jobs is to water all of the flowers and the garden. I thought this picture was so cute!
We lost another close friend on June 29. We have known Martin and Jean Thomas since we moved into this neighborhood when I was 4. Martin was our Bishop when I was little, then in our Stake Presidency, and is now one of our Patriarchs. When my mom went back to teaching about 25 years ago, she was the aide in Jean's classroom. I remember the day I was baptized, they gave me a card with a brand new one dollar bill in it, and a note that said, “Here’s a brand new dollar for a brand new member of the Church.” She has also been very cute with Ryan, always wanting to know the latest happenings in his life. She treated him like a little man. She always had profound words of wisdom for me, personally, as well as some she has shared in meetings. Jean and I share a favorite hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.” On the last day she was able to attend Sacrament Meeting, we had a testimony meeting about our favorite hymns. I had gone up right after Jean, so I just sat on the front bench while I listened to her. She looked right at me as she bore her testimony of the words of that hymn. That experience added even more tender feelings to those I already have about that hymn. I will really miss Jean and her loving encouragement.
We lost another close friend on June 29. We have known Martin and Jean Thomas since we moved into this neighborhood when I was 4. Martin was our Bishop when I was little, then in our Stake Presidency, and is now one of our Patriarchs. When my mom went back to teaching about 25 years ago, she was the aide in Jean's classroom. I remember the day I was baptized, they gave me a card with a brand new one dollar bill in it, and a note that said, “Here’s a brand new dollar for a brand new member of the Church.” She has also been very cute with Ryan, always wanting to know the latest happenings in his life. She treated him like a little man. She always had profound words of wisdom for me, personally, as well as some she has shared in meetings. Jean and I share a favorite hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.” On the last day she was able to attend Sacrament Meeting, we had a testimony meeting about our favorite hymns. I had gone up right after Jean, so I just sat on the front bench while I listened to her. She looked right at me as she bore her testimony of the words of that hymn. That experience added even more tender feelings to those I already have about that hymn. I will really miss Jean and her loving encouragement.
No comments:
Post a Comment